dpkg-divert(1)

📦
version 1.23.11 · 19 versions
, in arch rolling

💅 dpkg-divert(1) — the dpkg suite's own lil file-relocation queen 👑

okay so this is the manual page for dpkg-divert, straight out of the dpkg suite, and bestie… she's lowkey iconic once you get what she does. let's get into it 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

dpkg-divert — override a package's version of a file 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

dpkg-divert [option...] command

like, options first, then command. that's the whole shape of it, no cap. 🎀

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

dpkg-divert is the utility that sets up and updates the list of diversions. that's literally her whole job, and she does it slayfully.

so what's a file diversion? it's a way of forcing dpkg(1) not to install a file into its usual location, but into a diverted location instead, mwah. 🦋

and where does this come in handy? listen:

  • package maintainer scripts can use diversions to move a file away when it's causing a conflict 😭
  • system administrators can also use it to override some package's configuration file 👑
  • or whenever some files need to be preserved by dpkg when installing a newer version of a package which contains those files — specifically files that aren't marked as "conffiles", iykyk

✨ COMMANDS ✨

  • [--add] file — add a diversion for file. the file is currently not renamed, see --rename. so like, it's just a bookkeeping entry rn, the actual moving is a whole separate vibe ✨
  • --remove file — remove a diversion for file. same deal, the file is currently not renamed, see --rename. 📝
  • --list [glob-pattern] — list all diversions, or just the ones matching glob-pattern. filtered slay 💅
  • --listpackage file — print the name of the package that diverts file. prints LOCAL if file is locally diverted, and nothing if file is not diverted. not me leaving you on read 😶
supported since dpkg 1.15.0 ⭐
  • --truename file — print the real name for a diverted file. the glow-up reveal 🦋

✨ OPTIONS ✨

  • --admindir directory — set the administrative directory to directory. defaults to «/var/lib/dpkg» if DPKG_ADMINDIR has not been set. 🗂️
  • --instdir directory — set the installation directory, which is the directory where packages get installed. defaults to «/» if DPKG_ROOT has not been set.
supported since dpkg 1.19.2 🌸
  • --root directory — set the root directory to directory, which sets the installation directory to «*directory*» and the administrative directory to «*directory*/var/lib/dpkg» if DPKG_ROOT has not been set.
supported since dpkg 1.19.2 🌸
  • --divert divert-to — divert-to is the location where the versions of file, as provided by other packages, will be diverted. the new address bestie is moving to 🏡
  • --local — specifies that all packages' versions of this file are diverted. that means there are zero exceptions: whatever package is installed, the file is diverted. an admin can use this to install a locally modified version 👑
  • --package package — package is the name of a package whose copy of file will not be diverted. i.e. file will be diverted for all packages except package. it's giving main character exception energy 💅
  • --quiet — quiet mode, i.e. no verbose output. shhh 🤫
  • --rename — actually move the file aside (or back). dpkg-divert will abort the operation in case the destination file already exists. this is the common behavior used for diversions of files from the non-Essential package set (see --no-rename for more details). ⚠️
  • --no-rename — specifies that the file should not be renamed while adding or removing the diversion into the database. this is intended for diversions of files from the Essential package set, where the temporary disappearance of the original file is not acceptable, as it can render the system non-functional 😭💀. this is the default behavior, which will change once there are no known users, but not before the dpkg 1.23.x release cycle.
supported since dpkg 1.19.1 🧚
  • --test — test mode, i.e. don't actually perform any changes, just demonstrate. dress rehearsal vibes 🎭
  • -?, --help — show the usage message and exit. 🫶
  • --version — show the version and exit. 📌

✨ EXIT STATUS ✨

  • 0 — the requested action was successfully performed. ate and left no crumbs 👑
  • 2 — fatal or unrecoverable error due to invalid command-line usage, or interactions with the system, such as accesses to the database, memory allocations, etc. 💀 not the vibe.

✨ ENVIRONMENT ✨

  • DPKG_ROOT — if set and the --instdir or --root options have not been specified, it will be used as the filesystem root directory.
supported since dpkg 1.19.2 🌈
  • DPKG_ADMINDIR — if set and the --admindir or --root options have not been specified, it will be used as the dpkg data directory. 🗃️
  • DPKG_MAINTSCRIPT_PACKAGE — if set and the --local and --package options have not been specified, dpkg-divert will use it as the package name. 🏷️
  • DPKG_DEBUG — sets the debug mask from an octal value. the currently accepted flags are described in the dpkg --debug option, but not all these flags might have an effect on this program.
supported since dpkg 1.21.10 🔍
  • DPKG_COLORS — sets the color mode. the currently accepted values are: auto (default), always and never. aesthetic choices, we love to see it 🎨
supported since dpkg 1.18.5 🌸
  • DPKG_NLS — if set, it will be used to decide whether to activate Native Language Support, also known as internationalization (or i18n) support. the accepted values are: 0 and 1 (default). 🌍
supported since dpkg 1.22.7 💜

✨ FILES ✨

  • /var/lib/dpkg/diversions — the file which contains the current list of diversions of the system. it lives in the dpkg administration directory, along with other files important to dpkg, such as status or available. 📂
note: dpkg-divert preserves the old copy of this file, with extension -old, before replacing it with the new one. she's sentimental like that 🥺💖

✨ NOTES ✨

when adding, the default is --local and --divert original.distrib. when removing, --package or --local and --divert must match if specified. matching sets only, bestie 🎯

Directories can't be diverted with dpkg-divert. periodt. 🚫📁

and pls be careful when diverting shared libraries 😭 — ldconfig(8) creates a symbolic link based on the DT_SONAME field embedded in the library. because ldconfig does not honor diverts (only dpkg does), the symlink may end up pointing at the diverted library, if a diverted library has the same SONAME as the undiverted one. like… the link is gonna follow the wrong twin, be so serious ⚠️

✨ EXAMPLES ✨

to divert all copies of a /usr/bin/example to /usr/bin/example.foo — i.e. this directs all packages providing /usr/bin/example to install it as /usr/bin/example.foo, performing the rename if required:

dpkg-divert --divert /usr/bin/example.foo --rename /usr/bin/example

to remove that diversion:

dpkg-divert --rename --remove /usr/bin/example

to divert any package trying to install /usr/bin/example to /usr/bin/example.foo, except your own wibble package:

dpkg-divert --package wibble --divert /usr/bin/example.foo \
   --rename /usr/bin/example

to remove that diversion:

dpkg-divert --package wibble --rename --remove /usr/bin/example

see how the remove mirrors the add? that's the matching rule in action, iykyk 🎀

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

dpkg(1). that's the one and only 🔥

okay that's the whole page bestie, and before you go — this fine piece of documentation is from the dpkg suite, version 1.23.11-dirty, dated 2026-09-09. go forth and divert responsibly 💅✨🦋

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